Influence
by LostInTheDreams
Summary: Heiji has always kept the secrets. He always solved the cases. He always caught... most of the times, caught the bad guy. But it's not so easy anymore. THEY are involved. Heiji is lost when the criminal is closer than he thinks- it might even be himself
1. Meeting Fate

I have only a basic idea of where I'm taking this story. It shouldn't be extremly long but, ulike all my others,  
>This will be first person from Hattori's POV.<br>I don't know how fast I'll be updating this one ^_^; just to warn you

Story idea requested by Sera-kun the mystery detective

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><p><strong>INFLUENCE<strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: Meeting Fate<strong>

**...**

**...**

**_Birds of a feather flock together,_**  
><strong><em>And so will pigs and swine;<em>**  
><strong><em>Rats and mice will have their choice,<em>**  
><em><strong>And so will I have mine.<strong>  
>- Birds of A Feather (nusery rhyme)<em>

**...**

**...**

I was used ta Kazuha latchin' onta me for one reason or another, keepin' me from leavin' school. I was used ta cases comin' up in the area that were interestin' enough that I didn't want to go back home.

A stern woman with gray eyes lookin' like she was either gonna eat someone or greet them with a friendly smile, waiting for me - that was new.

An' then she started preachin' to me about who she was. I tuned most of it out, instead lookin' her over an' makin' my own judgments. Usually the people who come ta me need help. She did not. It was obvious. She was calm an' most people dealin' with somethin' they needed me fer weren't.

'Cause of all the hell I'd run into with Kudo, I'd noticed a trend of people just usin' me to trick the police. Heck, one of 'em almost got away with it.

At some point during her long drawl on what she thought of _me_, I interrupted her.

"An' what exactly is it that ya want from me again?"

"Come with me." Okay, nothin' new there. Most people who came to me didn't do it so they could have a look around the classroom. "I know school just let out and you might not have the time, but I'm willing to reschedule."

A raised eyebrow.

"Right. Remind me again what it is ya want with me?"

"I'm an army recruiter, but that's not what I'm here for. Recently I've been having a lot of kids your age come in and it's been nagging at me. Your father and a friend of mine know each other, and I honestly just wanted to see if _you _were ready for what it is you want to do. It's understandable that, if a detective isn't ready to hunt down killers, I don't think I'd be able to let an eighteen year old prepare himself to go off to war, whether or not there is one in the near future. I've had a lot of them do it for the educational purposes and I think that makes a lousy soldier. So I wanted to see how you handle yourself."

She really did look the part. Her long brunette hair was tied back in a bun, in strict fashion, clothes decked out to look like they just came outta a steamer. Her insecurity felt false, but she was an officer, so it was hard ta tell what was hidden an' what wasn't there.

"So, again, _what do ya want with me?_"

She shook her head as if talkin' down ta some small kid an' that only made me angrier.

"I just want to look around with you at some of the things that would involve you as you got older and matured into this detective career of yours. The jail house and police station were a few of those I was thinking of visiting"

"I've already seen all that."

"Then let me see it."

With no way of fightin' her, an' not really having any passion to say no to a woman - specifically one who had connections to my old man - I gave. With a sigh I followed her outta the school gates. Kazuha would be mad at me fer leavin' her, but that girl found a reason ta be mad at me for sneezin'. It wasn't like her yellin' was anythin' new to me.

"So, where we goin' then?"

"To the prison. I already asked permission so they'll be expecting us."

Persistent woman. She knew she'd be able ta get to me. If she wanted to draw any more tension between us, she did it.

"Great."

I laid back an' followed her ta her car. It was nice. My bike was pretty up ta date, though I needed a bit more cash to put any finesse into it. She didn't care about price. Her Jag was as decked out as I'd ever seen. The silver metallic finish reflected the sun back inta my eyes. It looked like gravity had been set to three times its pressure with the way the car was huggin' the ground.

"Army must pay good."

"No, parents do. XJ220. My mother had it imported. Even when you're older, parents like to show that they can run your world, each in their own way."

I looked away from her, checkin' out the car. Man, foreign models were awesome. My parents didn't even have close ta this kinda car, an' my mom was one that liked to spend the bucks when she could, though she was more inta the older stuff.

The air conditioning felt nice an' she musta been listenin' ta jazz of some sort, 'cause a trumpet started playin' after she turned the key.

An' we were headin' to a prison in this?

Oh joy. As if I hadn't seen a jail before. Hell, I'd been a witness in more than one crime an' interrogated myself. It didn't have the same effect on me it used ta. 'Cause of dad, I knew mosta what went on before I was old enough ta spell my own name.

But hey, she was a girl, an' I really didn't want ta fight with my old man more than I already did. The guy was my dad, so I respected 'im, but he wasn't the kinda dad that I would say it was love. Loyalty was a different thing, but I guess with cops, it varies.

Okay, so maybe I was lying to myself. The prison was a little new ta me.

I had been in it, an' I really did know where everythin' was, but I hadn't gone further than the front. I eyed the building as we passed it.

She parked the car an' I hated leavin' the cool air. It was hot outside, not that I really expected the temperature ta be lower when we were in the middle 'a August.

"I can't believe I'm back in Osaka," she sighed, shuttin' the door. "It's always cloudy here."

"It ain't _that_ bad."

"It wouldn't be if it didn't rain more than half the year." Another sigh.

Okay, definitely not a way to get on my good side- bashin' my home town.

"So what are ya doin' here? Wanted ta talk to me that badly?"

"Yeah."

She was back in my suspicious category, though I'd never really taken her outta it. I was mostly followin' her at this point to see what her angle was, 'cause I was missin' it.

The black gates in the front were open like spidery wings if I was going for an artistic point 'a view. I couldn't see the building as anymore than a large gray block with windows. Jail wasn't supposed ta be pretty.

"You know, Osaka has the second largest prison in all of Japan."

"Yeah," I smiled. "I know."

She didn't seem to like my pointa view though, 'cause she turned away from me an' kept walkin'. "When most of its citizens are behind bars, I don't think that's a good thing."

"It means the cops are doin' their jobs."

"If you say so."

"You're with the army, yeah? Why don't 'cha think that's a good thing?"

"Maybe I've seen too many people who were sent to ends that didn't match their actions."

I wasn't gonna fight with a woman, let alone her. There was just somethin' 'bout her that kinda scared me, though I couldn't put my finger on what it was. She acted normal enough.

She opened the door an' I stepped in before her.

"Sometimes I don't think that all detectives fully realize what they're doing. Please prove me wrong."

**...**

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><p><strong>...<strong>

"Hattori!"

I looked down at Kudo an' shook my head. "Sorry, what'd ya say?"

He gave me that eye he did every time he thought I was actin' stupid. I got angry. It came on so much faster'n it used ta. I picked him up by the back of his shirt, hearin' a surprised yelp, an' plopped 'im down on the table, knockin' over a few scraps'a paper.

"I'm gonna ask you again, nicely. What did ya say?"

"I said that you were an idiot. Now stop spacing out. I need you to help me look up there." Kudo pointed a finger ta the large cabinet in front of him, on the other side'a the room.

"Why?"

There was that eye again, then it turned into something worried. "Hattori, is something bothering you?"

"It's nothing." I picked him up, under the arms this time so I wouldn't choke 'im, an' lifted him up so that he could reach the cabinet. I didn't wanna tell him what was botherin' me an' Kudo kept enough secrets to himself that I didn't really care that I was blowin' him off. His shoes dug into my shoulder as he reached fer somethin'.

Then again, I'd never had somethin' bother me so much before

**...**

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><p><strong>...<strong>

"Here."  
>The woman had a guard open the door in front of us, leadin' the way in as he followed behind me an' locked the three of us in. Nice. Now if someone escaped, we'd be trapped.<p>

"Ya know." I shoved my hands in my pockets, feelin' like an idiot but keepin' it off my face. "I never gotcher name."

"Oh, I'm sorry." She stopped, turnin' to face me an' bowin' to me. "My name is Iizuka Kiria"

"Nice ta meetcha, Iizuka-san."  
>"I'm sorry. That was very rude of me."<p>

"No big deal." I dug my hands deeper inta my pockets. I thought she was keepin' her name from me on purpose, but that reaction didn't match. "So, what were ya gonna say before I interrupted?"

"This man." She waved her hand at one of the cells in front'a us. Osaka was a big place, so we had a big prison, though this was the first time I was seein' the cells. They had dorm housin' here too, an' that was a far as I got when dealin' with a prisoner.

I looked at the man inside. He had short cut, black hair. There was a darker tinge to his skin like my own, though his eyes held a different shape- speaking of foreign blood. 'Sides a scar long enough to match a butcher knife in length going down his arm, I saw nothin' special 'bout him.

"Yeah, an'?"

"Kumai-san, I've come back. I brought a friend of mine with."

The man opened a green eye an' stared at us. Bein' a guy, I couldn't help it if I felt a little intimidated. This guy had three times the muscle I did.

"I can see that."

"Can you do me a favor and tell him the reason you're here?"

"Why? It's not like it will change anything." The man closed his eye again an' I tried not to let it show that the two of 'em were confusin' the hell out of me. The woman just ups an' takes me ta a prison an' wants me ta talk to this guy? Then he goes an' acts all indifferent to it. I liked mysteries an' all, but a clue here or there would be nice.

"It may not make a difference to you, but this boy is a detective- well on his way to one day joining the same police force that you've been fighting most of your life against. You can be selfish and let it happen again- to someone else."

The man let out a breath. "Yeah? You brought one of those idiots to me?"

"Yes."

He opened both his eyes, turnin' ta face me. I stood my ground, not that it was hard to do with the bars separatin' us an' all.

"Hey, kid. A two second story may not be worth much to you, but the lady says she wants me to tell it, so I'll tell it. Want to know something interesting? I didn't know a lick of Japanese when I got here. I was in the country for about two months with my cousin and we were bunking in... you know, I never could figure out all the names and maps and such, but I do remember our address was in Iburi in Hokkaido. It's been so long since I've been there that I can't remember any street names or even what the apartment looked like anymore."

The guy laughed, soundin' like some old beggar off the street. I wasn't really bothered by it. There were a lot of guys from a lot of places in jail.

"I was born and raised in Khowai in Tripura." The guy raised his head up on one hand an' looked at me. "Know where that is?"

I shook my head. I wasn't so good with geography, though I could pick out the big places well enough that I got a passin' grade.

"It's in India. Me and my cousin always dreamed about going and seeing the world. So, one day, we did. Went to the States, Europe, and then ended up here. Worst mistake of my life, I'll tell you that. My cousin got the apartment, though jobs were harder to come by because neither of us knew more than enough words in Japanese to fit on a sticky-note. We were going, looking around town separately to see if we couldn't find some. I guess there must have been a robbery near the shop I was trying to get to hire me- you don't have to know the language to cook. Some officers saw me, looking for a foreign man with dark skin. I was arrested, and you can see what happened after that."

"Not really. They had ta have evidence ta convict ya."

"I guess not. I didn't have a lot of money, so I got some lawyer who could care less about my case, along with a translator. The lawyer wanted to take a plea bargain, but I kept telling her I didn't do it, so I wasn't going to go to jail for someone else. It ended up happening anyway because someone pointed me out, claiming I was the one that robbed the place. Only during the trial did I even find out this loser killed someone trying to get away. When a witness identifies you, that's it- game over."

"Did ya appeal the case? There's gotta have been some doubt that ya didn't do it, considerin' ya couldn't even speak well enough ta give orders durin' a robbery."

"They said I was faking it. There really wasn't any way to prove I wasn't."

I bit my lower lip as I thought, not aware the army woman was watchin' me until I looked up at her. She smiled sadly.

"There are people like this," she spread her hand down the corridor, "all over the place. Is there anything you can do for them, oh great detective?"

I huffed. "They gotta talk ta the right people, I-"

"You know the right people to talk to. They don't."

I ate the rest of my words. "What's yer point ta all this?"

"Who do you think put innocent people behind bars? If you care to look, there's more. There's an older woman down there who took the rap for her son, there's a woman down there who murdered an intruder on accident as he was breaking into her home- only to find out it was a friend of hers and the jury convicted her of trying to hide the crime. There's a man not much older than you who's here because someone robbed a jewelry store and hid the items in his house. And Kumai-san, who's already been here for twenty two years and looking at life. Who do you think is responsible for looking over so much?"

"It's not like I did it!"

"No, but can you say you never will? That you won't, on any of the hundreds of cases you come across, send an innocent person to jail?" She paused, her eyes turnin' hard. "Are you sure you haven't done it already?"

I swallowed hard. If I owed Kudo one thing, it was showin' me how stupid I was. On our very first duel with one another, I'd pegged the wrong guy- an' he gone along with it. If not for Kudo, the real murderer would'a gotten away.

An' how many cases had I had before I realized what a swelled head gotcha?

"You see?"

"It ain't gonna happen again."

"Even once is too many, and I'm not just talking about you anymore. What if every officer did it- just once? For every officer then, there would be an innocent person living a life they don't deserve, and Osaka has thousands of officers."

It was quiet. I didn't really know what ta tell the lady. I knew how good I was now, an' I'd seen some pretty bad cops out there that couldn't do their job if their lives depended on it.

"I love ya bringin' down my mood an' everythin', thanks. But what was the point ta all this?"

"To show you the truth. I'll be back at the school to see you in a week. We don't have to come back here, but I'd like to talk to you. Would you mind?"

Ya, I'd mind. Get the hell out of my life an' let me do my job without killin' my self-confidence.

"That's fine." I don't know what it was that made me want ta agree to it, but there was somethin' about this woman, or what she knew, that part of me craved to know.

"Very well then. I'll see you in a week."

**...**

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><p><strong>...<strong>

"Hattori."

I looked down at Kudo. He stepped away from whatever it was he was doin' an' just stared at me. I frowned at the little guy. "What do ya want?"

"I want to know what's been bothering you all day. We've already found out who the criminal is but we need the evidence. I can't reach the higher places and all you've been doing is standing there. If a case doesn't interest you, I can be sure there's something on your mind that's bothering you- and quite a bit at that."

"Nothin's botherin' me. At least, nothin' that wasn't already botherin' me. I think. I don't know!" I scratched my head. "It's nothin'. What places did ya want me ta check out?"

"Next room over," Kudo tipped his head. "The dresser drawers and the cabinet above the television. We're looking for-"

"Yeah, yeah, the cloth with the chemicals on it. I didn't ferget that." I waved 'im off an' walked outta the room.

"Hattori, you know, you could talk to me if something's wrong."

"I know, man. I know. It's nothing. Really."

I had ta get my head outta the clouds. The father in this case was the murderer. Killin' yer own son. That was low. The brat had it comin' the way he got everyone he'd ever met angry with him, swindling money from his workplace an' his family, but ya just don't kill yer own kid. Ya don't kill, period.

I found the cloth easy enough, though the back of the cabinet had been outfitted with a fake back that I had to remove. I went back ta the first room an' handed it to Kudo.

"Let Mouri have this one. I'm always upshowin' him in Tokyo, so I think he should win one."

Kudo raised his eyebrows. "Give him one and he'll take a hundred. You'll never stop hearing it for the next three days you're here, maybe longer."

"Eh, I can deal with it. If his ego gets any bigger though, we might need ta send out the tanks," I snickered. Kudo's expression let up a bit. The guy was too observant. Even when somethin' small was on my mind, the guy could pick it up like a hound. I had ta get back in the game.

**...**

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><p><strong>...<strong>

I was headin' out to Tokyo in a few days, an' I told Ms. You-ain't-ready-ta-be-a-detective, that. Downside, it only seemed ta make her stick ta me like glue. I saw her after school the next week an' spent ages in a courthouse this time. Thing was, that was kinda interestin'. I'd seen the small time courts an' how they like to speak so quiet ya can't even here 'em, where it's pretty much in an' out. I guess it was different when the charges were bigger. I'd seen a few murder trials on TV a lot like the ones she brought me to.

The defense pled their case first, I guess tryin' ta defend couple of teenage gangsters that went around the lower part of Tokyo these past few years, harassin' people until they finally killed a couple on vacation there. They got away with it most'a the time 'cause their base of operations was here. Most of the gang members couldn't be tagged, but at least they got two of 'em.

There wasn't anythin' for them to use as defense except their ages. One'a them was even younger than me. They didn't say how much younger, but I was guessin' somewhere around fifteen. The other was nineteen an' given a tougher sentence, the way it was supposed ta work. The trial wasn't all that excitin', but it did keep my interest. They were both found with guns when the police arrived, used cartridges, gunpowder residue on their clothes, the lot. They didn't know the two people they killed. With gangs, it was like that most'a the time. The sentencin' would come later. Both walked out of the room, hands cuffed ta their sides.

An' I got the chance to have some'a my free time back, now that I went with her an' everythin'.

"Hattori-kun?"

Or not.

"Yeah," I mumbled, walkin' down the steps an' back ta my house. "Whacha want now?"

"A little justice, since I saw none in there."

That made me pause. "What're ya talkin' about? They got the guys responsible."

"The fall-guys? Yes, I saw that. Two innocent kids that weren't even there that night are behind bars. That's not justice."

I lowered an eyebrow. "What'er ya talkin' about? The cops found 'em at the scene."

"How long after the gunfire was over? I've seen this more than once." An' the lady really did look disgusted as she turned back. "They get the children who want to be a part of their gang and set them up for their fall so that the police will stop looking for the people who really did it. You'd be surprised how often that works. As long as someone is behind bars and the news gets to show that someone is being punished for the crime, no one cares if they had nothing to do with it. It's a false sense of security that we wrap around ourselves so we don't have to see when all of our oversights come crashing down around our heels."

"Listen, miss, that's a lot'a speculation. How do ya know _you_ aren't the one readin' this wrong?"

"Hattori-kun." Her eyes pierced me like she thought I was bein' stupid. "What kind of fool would keep the gun they just used to murder someone?"

"One that's scared." I tipped my head back towards the buildin', tryin' to ignore her eyes. "The kid was young, an' gangs are no fun once you're on yer own, but I doubt he knew what he was doin' once he was alone."  
>"Alone. Exactly. You don't think those two boys were the only ones there?"<p>

"'Course not. That ain't how gangs work."

"Then how are _you_ so sure that these two individuals are the ones who committed the crime?"

"I ain't. They're still part of the gang though, an' they were involved-"

"So they should spend the rest of their life behind bars while the main puppeteers behind this walk free to do it again? What those boys need is counseling, not a courthouse."

I gave her a sideways look but it wasn't like I coulda said anythin' about it. Gangs weren't usually much of a problem in my neck of the woods, so I didn't see them much. I couldn't say I had a good sense for them but I knew, once in, ya didn't get out. Those guys in there weren't the innocent lambs she was makin' 'em out ta be... but I was startin' ta think they weren' the bad guys that needed to rot in jail either. Not that there was anythin' I could do about it.

An' not that the thought wouldn't be naggin' at me while I was at Kudo's either. That guy had a way of starin' at me an' makin' me feel guilty 'bout stuff I'd done years ago. I'd hate to be a criminal lookin' down at the little guy.

**...**

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><p><strong>...<strong>

"Ow!"

I grabbed my shin up where Kudo couldn't kick me again. "What was that for?"

"Hattori, what's eating you? Everyone's already left and you keep staring at the room like it's not even here."

"I told ya it was nothin'!" I rubbed my sore leg. "Why are _you_ still here then?"

"Because I was waiting for you, you idiot. Ran's long gone and her dad woke back up about ten minutes ago. It's been just us in here for a while now." His eyes turned serious instead of the boredom they usually showed various amounts of. "I thought you would have snapped out of it on your own."

I yawned. I hadn't gotten much sleep last night, what with jumpin' on a plane early in the mornin' ta get here an' not bein' able to sleep 'cause I was thinkin' on things I shoulda let go of. I grabbed at the excuse. "I'm just tired. When we get back I think I'm gonna pass out in the closet or somethin'. I ain't dealin' with Mouri. Yer right, the guy's gonna be a nightmare."

The little guy grabbed my pants when I tried ta walk passed him, lookin' at me with those eyes again. "You sure this is just you being tired?"

An' I felt like he could see my doubts, everythin' that had been troublin' me the past week. I brushed him off gently, walkin' outta the room so I didn't have ta look at him.

"Yeah, I'm sure."


	2. To Have The Chance

Okay... Heiji's accent is getting to me. I can't tell what's wrong anymore ^_^;  
>If someone wants to offer, <em>please let me know if you can beta for this story,<em> as this chapter has just had me looking over it.  
>Thanks<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: To Have The Chance<strong>

...

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_**Good night, sleep tight,**_

_**Wake up bright**_

_**In the morning light**_

_**To do what's right**_

_**With all your might. **_

_- Good Night, Sleep Tight (nursery rhyme)_

...

...

I couldn't get the things that damned woman said out of my thoughts. They haunted me like some freakin' ghost hell-bent on revenge. I mean... sure the law was flawed. Humans, in their nature, are flawed creatures. That's what makes life interestin'.

But... what if we were wrong? I could'a done so much damage if I never met Kudo. An' those thoughts didn't help either. The little guy noticed when I would stare at him too long, thinkin' about that. Tokyo was safe with him here. The police force here was a good one. I'd seen enough of it first hand, but what 'bout everywhere else? Were there officers out there that weren't as good as they said they were? Sure. Did that bother me as much as it was now? Nah. An' these delusions that the lady said we had. I was seein' them everywhere now. Even with Kudo.

We were all lyin' to ourselves... That didn't sound right, but everywhere I turned, I kept seein' it. Kudo was only makin' that part of my dilemma worse. All three of 'em were lyin' to themselves 'bout one thing or another.

An' what about me? 'Cause of Kudo, I was lyin' to the Mouri girl practically every time I saw her. 'Course, that was for the best... wasn't it?

I never agreed with the guy on that point. These bastards that were out there, after him, would kill her anyway if they ever found out 'bout him. The little guy's been livin' with them for ages now. They wouldn't want ta leave potential witnesses. The funny thing about that is, I think I'm safer than Kudo's girl, an' I _know_. It ain't only knowledge that his demons are after, it's the threat of knowledge. I can't understand why he can't see that. If it were me, I'd rather have Kazuha know an' get somewhere as far away from me as she could. Yet he keeps spurtin' that not tellin' her nothin' is the best way to go about it. That's the biggest load of crock I ever heard. But I'm not gonna tell him that... 'cause I want Kudo to feel as safe as he can. Have to admit, I worry about the guy too much.

An' here I was keepin' my opinions to myself ta save him some piece of mind. This, in the end, could get the guy killed. He's very good at ignorin' stuff close to home.

I picked at the food in front of me, but none of it tasted right. Tokyo sure had some odd cookin'.

"How is it, Hattori-kun?"

I was sure my eyes were a little confused when I looked at her. I couldn't help it. Kudo's girl had a way of speakin' ta me so nice... not that I was attracted to her or anythin', it was just somethin' different that had a way of takin' me by surprise

"Ah, it's great." I put a hand behind my head and smiled, tryin' not to mention the strange taste... what kinda seasonin' did she use? ehh...

"Heiji..." Kazuha elbowed me hard in the side. I winced, glarin' over at her.

"What?" I whispered fiercely back.

"How come you never tell me my cookin' is good when I make lunch?"

I didn't even wanna answer that. After eatin' the same thing day in a day out like a one-trick pony, it got kinda borin'. Not that it was Kazuha's fault. I just didn't like eatin' the same thing all the time. If she learned ta mix it up a little, maybe I'd say somethin'. Maybe that somethin' would get me on her bad side an' she'd smack me again. She always found some type of double-meanin' in anythin' I said. If I say, '_hey, this tastes great!_' she'd take it as meanin' that anythin' I ate of her's before that tasted bad.

"I can't believe it's so late." Kudo's girl looked at the small hands on some watch 'a hers. I never saw it before. Must 'a been new. It didn't really interest me, I was just bored an' happen ta notice.

An' she had a point. It'd already been dark out when Kudo an' I had figggerd out how the poor stiff bit it. If my mind weren't runnin' in circles, I probably would'a been more tired than I was. Kazuha still looked mad at me so I couldn't tell if she was. That girl always has energy when she's got it out fer me.

"Time for the kiddies to go to bed," the old man said over the sound of his small TV.

I got up, makin' for the room. Ya, maybe I just needed some sleep.

Some noise behind me got my attention an' Kazuha was at my side, kinda outta breath… and lookin' kinda cute.

"Heiji! You could at least put yer dishes away!"

"Sorry." I shrugged. What was the big deal? They were just some dishes.

But she punched me in the arm for it anyway. "Heiji! This isn't yer house! Ran-chan was nice an' made the food! The least ya can do is put yer own dirty plates away!"

Oh, right. I fergot ta thank her fer makin' the food. Ah well, I'd thank her tomorrow. It wasn't like I was goin' anywhere fer the next few days.

Kazuha shook her head angrily at me, stormin' into the bathroom ta get ready fer bed. I didn't really feel dirty an' my teeth ain't gonna fall out from one night 'a not brushin' 'em. I pushed old man Mouri's door open, getting' all the stuff I needed out. What with Kudo being so small, I had ta get more sheets outta the closet. It was usually fun sleepin' with him like that, kinda like I got a new little brother fer a few days that didn't annoy the hell outta me like most kids did.

'Course, Kudo came in lookin' like he was about ta eat lead.

"Hattori, what's been going on?" he asked me, all serious and closin' the door in a dramatic fashion. 'Course, anyone could'a heard of if they cared to try, but a closed door gave the impression that yer converstation was private, and it did take some work to listen in well.

"Nothin'. I told ya that."

"I don't believe you. You've been acting really strange. At first I thought someone was following you because you were looking around all afternoon, but then you were too out of it for that. So, what's really going on?"

"I've had a lot ta think about, that's all. Nothin' ta worry about. If I were in any kinda trouble, I'd warn ya before commin' over ta yer house, wouldn't I?"

"I guess." Kudo didn't look like he believed me. It was the truth. There wasn't any danger.

"Lighten up, man. Sometimes I think you've been in this game too long. Ya gotta stop actin' all paranoid all the time. Danger doesn't lurk around ever corner."

"Maybe not with you," Kudo sighed in a agreement. "I know. Maybe I am getting to old for this."

We both laughed at that. I didn't think about it before but laughin' with him was the first time I felt normal all day. Maybe my head really was in the clouds too much. Nothin' was gonna happen. The world was gonna go on just the way it has been for hundreds 'a years and I'm gonna do my best to make it the kinda world I wanna live in. I had ta forget about politics and all that garbage about the legal system. All the flaws in society had been there before I was thinkin' about them an' they'd be there after. Some things ya just hadda learn ta live with.

**...**

I yawned, rubbin' my eyes. Why was it every time I showed up at Kudo's we got dragged into freakin' murder case after murder case an' when that didn't happen it was a kidnappin'. Really, the guy needed a holiday worse than the tooth fairy.

"_Kudo, really man_" I sighed to myself, leanin' up against the beach house an' starin' at the water. This wasn't the first time I'd been around him an' someone had drowned. 'Course, it wasn't the second time either. Both times the killer had used the ocean tides ta wipe away their presence. This time the victim was drowned in the bathtub, but his lungs were filled with ocean water. It was the forensics guys that saved us this time around. Never would'a figgered it out if not for that critical piece 'a info. Had ta thank they guys in blue. They knew what they were doin'.

It was easy enough ta find the killer after that. The woman wasn't as good at hidin' her trail once we had the correct place an' time 'a death. She folded when Kudo and I told everyone what had really happened. She filled us in on why. Some tragic story 'bout how she and the guy she killed had been lovers before he found this new girlfriend. They'd all been working together an' she couldn't stand seein' him happy with someone else. I'd heard the story before. I wasn't interested.

"Kudo?"

"Hm?" The little guy walked out the door. I'd heard 'im commin' an' it was pretty easy to tell the kid's footsteps from Ran's slower ones or Mouri's uneven thumps of either anger or triumph. In this case, he was off gloatin' somewhere thanks ta Kudo.

"I think there's somethin' wrong with me."

"And what else is new?" But Kudo seemed interested. He went over to the edge of the deck an' sat down. I followed 'im.

"I think I'm gettin' tired of all this."

"All this what?" Kudo looked at me, unfazed at what had just happened. I could tell it was different fer him, because he'd seen it too much. This was just another murder than he'd gotten involved with because he _had_ to, 'cause if he didn't solve it, who would? An' why wait when he was right there ta have at it? Well, I could do that to, but I ain't no police officer. I don't like my days filled with the same death scene over and over, just different faces.

"We gotta go out an' do somethin' tomorrow. Somethin' normal. No death or nothin' 'cause I think Kazuha's gonna start avoidin' commin' with me if all we keep doin' is lookin' at corpses."

"It wasn't as if I could help it. The man on the beach was suspicious. I thought he was up to something. I didn't think he was going to be killed."

"I know man, I know. It's just... nevermind. I can't change who ya are." I winked at him. "How 'bout a quiet day at the apartment then? Nothin' bad can happen there."

Oh how wrong I was.

**...**

The next day I woke up to sirens blarin', makin' me jump outta bed. Who knows, the house could 'a been on fire or somethin'. It was a reaction that most people get when they're faced with a noise that's tryin' ta blow their eardrums out.

_Turns out, yes, there was a fire. In the house, not a chance. I could smell the smoke, so maybe that's why my mind went there first. Turns out the building next door was up in flames, takin' a married couple with it. _

"What's goin' on?" Kazuha asked, commin' up next ta me. I watched her wipe sleep from her eye as we both started ta wake up. The noises an' burnin' smell already took most of the sleep from me. She must 'a been more focused on me than on what was goin' on. "Heiji?"

I grinned at her. I coudlnt' help it if Kudo an' I were more alike than I would 'a liked. After all, with two people havin' so much in common, it made it hard to beat him at anythin'. Right now though, that wasn't my concern. "I'll be right back. Call the fire station."

I tapped Kazuha on the shoulder and ran out the door, forgoin' my shoes and forgettin' I was still in my night clothes.

Okay, buildin' was on fire. First thing first, I had ta get myself wet. There was nothin' ta do that with. Okay, forget that. There wasn't time to be runnin' 'round lookin' fer water.

I rushed inta the building without thinkin' more on the matter. Someone probably called the cops already but the least I could do was make sure there wasn't anyone trapped inside that couldn't get out.

Damn apartment buildings. I didn't see anyone on the first floor. There wasn't much ta see even if there was someone there. The space looked like it was bein' rented out but no on had bought it yet. That was the funny thing. I could see. There really wasn't any smoke down here, let alone fire. That meant it started higher up an' I really shouldn't risk going in when I had no idea of the layout an' no way to protect myself.

People have called me stupid, quick ta act. Hey, I can't help it. I may not 'a liked havin' ta see dead people all the time, but when I was given the chance to protect them, that was a different matter. If I _could_ save someone, I certainly was gonna try.

Bustin' in the door an' rushin' up a flight of stairs that zigzagged the same way Mouri's did, I had ta throw open the door on the second floor, bangin' up my shoulder pretty bad. Okay, this was someone's house now.

"Hello!" I screamed inside. "Is anyone there?"

No answer. I went further inside, just ta check. The smoke was really bad. It looked like it started in the kitchen an' I didn't see any foul play as I was goin' through the place. A kid's room on my right was empty an', after breaking down the door on the left an' findin' the parents room empty, I left, fellin' the smoke burn my lungs.

Fire wasn't the easiest thing ta see in an' my eyes were so dry that I could hardly see where I was goin'. Half the place was already burned so bad that the flames had gone upstairs without much resistance.

I couldn't make it ta the third floor. Just the heat was enough to push me back an' I had ta practically run down the stairs so I was able to breath again.

"Heiji!" Kazuha came outta nowhere before I'd even gotten five feet from the building. I pushed her back.

"What are ya, some kinda idiot! We gotta get away from here first!"

"Was there anyone inside?" Kudo was at my heels. I didn't even see the guy at first.

"Nah, at least, not that I saw. I couldn't make it to the top. The smoke was bad. I think it got to the higher floor as well, but the stairs weren't blocked. If anyone was in there, they should have been able to get out."

_But, like I said before, that fire took a couple with them in the blaze. I don't know why they weren't able ta get away, maybe they were sleepin' an' got trapped - it was still early. Either way, I had let two people die. If I'd have tired harder, if I hadn't been afraid ta climb to the third floor... maybe I could 'a gotten 'em out._

...

"Hattori?"

"Hm? Yeah?" I rubbed my eye, feelin' the soot an' knowin' I still smelled like smoke since I hadn't changed outta my clothes yet. The green tank top was fine but my pants hand gotten filthy an' there were soot marks on my skin.

"You know, it wasn't your fault."

"I know. Just wish I could 'a done somethin' more. You know."

"I know." Kudo sat down next to me. The fire had been put out hours ago. Just the one buildin' had suffered, aside from the fact that Kudo's girl couldn't see out of her window 'cause of the smoke damage. "Ran was putting out the idea that we should go out to eat today. Ojisan's too busy watching some T.V. program about all the top stars, so it would just be the four of us."

"I ain't that hungry." I stretched.

"Hattori, it's past two and none of us have eaten anything all day. If you don't go with us then Kazuha isn't going to either and both of you staying here and starving won't do anyone any good."

"It's not like that, Kudo. I really ain't all that hungry right now."

"Humor me."

I sighed. Man, even without tryin', the little guy was good at makin' ya do exactly what he wanted. It was no wonder he got all the cops followin' his puppet strings. One day that face of his ain't gonna win someone over an' then he's really gonna be in trouble.

I got up, runnin' a hand through my hair. "Give me a minute. I gotta get dressed."

Kudo nodded, leavin' the room.

Once he was gone I took the shirt off an' got out a brown one and slipped it on over my head, grabbin' my light-weight green jacket outta my bag, switchin' my burnt pants for some dark blue jeans. I grabbed my hat from beside the bed where I left it last night an' put it on backwards so that I didn't have ta worry about fixin' my hair.

Walkin' outta the room, I was kinda surprised to see Kazuha there an' not Kudo. She had her hands behind her back an' it kinda looked like she was blushin'.

"Heiji?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you... alright? You didn't get hurt, did you?" She looked at my face, somethin' that seemed like it was hard fer her to do. Yep, she was definitely blushin'. That got me goin' too.

"No, I- I'm fine."

She took my hand from my side, runnin' her finger over the side of it. I had the urge ta pull away from her but when I twitched, her grip tightened. The small mark was still there. I'd have the scar for years before it went away an' Kazuha had already seen it months ago.

"Good. I'm happy you're not hurt."

"Come on," I pulled my hand away this time. "It wasn't a big deal. I wasn't in there long."

I wasn't ready for it when she hugged me. Her arms around we were warm even through my jacket an' I was too shocked ta do anythin', be it hug her back or push her away. The moment my mind was back in workin' order, Kazuha had let me go an' turned away. I wasn't sure but there might have been tears in her eyes. "It doesn't matter. I'm still glad you're okay."

She ran off into the other room.

"Gessh. I'll never understand girls." I put my hands in my pocket, hidin' the scar. It wasn't her fault. She had been scared an' she didn't want me ta get hurt. _Not that I would have let her go. I never would have let her go. Even if we had to fall together_. It wasn't as if I could explain my reasons for that. Even I was confused a bit. I mean, I would do it if it were Kudo too, or Ran... wouldn't I? I clenched my hand into a fist. _And it seemed she knew that. _

Walkin' into the room after her, Kazuha had gotten herself back together. Kudo's girl was off in the corner fixin' his clothes an' I had a small laugh at that. Kudo looked evilly back at me as she finished fixin' his collar.

"Are we all ready to go?" Ran looked around at all of us an' I shrugged my shoulder.

"Where are we goin'?"

"Well, because _someone's_ doing what ever it is that they want to do, my mom said she'd pick us up and take us out. She' hasn't meant you or Kazuha-chan yet, so I thought this might be fun."

"Yer mom?" Well, as long as the woman wasn't anythin' like her husband, we'd get along.

Kazuha seemed excited about it. I didn't really care. I wasn't hungry an' now I was about ta be treated ta a meal but someone I didn't know. Kudo's girl cookin' for us was one thing but I didn't like people payin' fer me. Heck, I didn't even like gettin' paid for what I did. My dad had the money an' I had no trouble spendin' it.

The woman pulled up in a white car that looked a awful lot like one of the ones Mouri always rented.

"Hello there." The woman parked, commin' out the door and greetin' us. "Hello, sweetie."

"Hi mom!" Kudo's girl was happy ta see her mom, happier than I would 'a been ta see mine. I didn't know squat about her but Ran was livin' with her dad so it was obvious she would have been seein' less of her mom. Of the two choices, I had ta wonder why she picked to stay with that idiot.

"Now you two must be Kazuha-chan and Hattori-kun. I've heard so much about you." She reached out her hand an' shook ours. I couldn't say the same about her. It wasn't often that I talked ta Kudo's girl an' the kid didn't like talkin' about personal stuff. I didn't even think about it before now but he knew so much about me an' I knew close ta nothin' about 'im.

Well, besides what everyone else didn't know. Kinda weird when I thought about it that way. The only things I really know are his secrets.

"It's nice ta meet you." Kazuha nodded ta the lady. The way her eyes were shinin' made me think that she at least had heard of this woman. Lookin' at her, she didn't really like like her daughter. Mouri didn't either. Kudo's girl must have gotten a mix of some other generations' genes or somethin' then.

It was nice. She took us out ta lunch an' everythin' like Ran said she was gonna. The only problem I really had with her was somethin' I couldn't describe in words. She just made me feel uneasy.

Not ta say she wasn't a nice person. A little stuck up fer my tastes an' more formal than I would like, but hey, there ain't that many people out there that aren't. Even Kudo gets on my nerves fer the same reasons. There was somethin' this woman didn't have though, that he did. I gave up tryin' ta figure out what it was.

Maybe it was just that she looked so much more... threatenin'? Kudo couldn't really pull off 'intimidating' with that face of his. She could. Made me feel like I was lookin' at a copy of my own mom. Didn't like mine, couldn't say I liked Ran's. Didn't mean they were bad people, just not my type.

"Heiji!" Kazuha elbowed me hard in the ribs before we were leavin'. "What's that matter with ya? You barely said a word!"

"What am I supposed ta say? I was listenin', ain't that enough?" I had heard more than my fair share of all of Mouri's faults. Not that I didn't already know 'em, but it seemed almost natural to hear 'im set on a spit when he'd full-out refused ta come with us. The rest had been Ran an' her mom catchin' up while I tried to sneak a few more interestin' conversations between Kudo. That woman had eyes like a hawk an' I had ta make sure not ta talk when she wasn't or she'd hear me.

"Gez, Heiji. You could at least _try _ta make conversation. It's like all ya can do now it talk ta little kids."

"And what's wrong with that?"

"Nothin' if yer five!"

"Who are ya callin' five?"

"Alright, already." Ran put a hand on each of our shoulders an' started leadin' us out. "You're causing a scene."

"So what?" I griped, but I let her have her way. I didn't like the eyes on me anymore than she did, at least, not just 'cause I was bein' loud. For any other reason, sure.

Ran's mom bid us goodbye after droppin' us back off at Mouri's. She shook Kazuha's hand an' I offered mine.

Even through glasses the woman manage to stare me down. "I heard that you and Kudo-kun were a lot alike. I'm sorry but I just don't see it."

I couldn't help it if my hand may have tightened around her's. I also couldn't help it if I may or may not 'ave growled at her under my breath in response.

The woman laughed an' let go of my head. "Well, maybe not all that much anyway. Be sure to take care."

Then she got back in her all-too-white car an' drove off. I didn't know if she'd been insultin' me or complimentin' me. With what I've seen Kudo do, I couldn't tell. Next to me, sometimes the guy was a real nutcase.

'Course, right when all the turmoil was finally slowin' down, we had ta go back.

Kazuha an' I still had school an' I couldn't go missin' it just 'cause I didn't wanna be there. Kudo was fun. I didn't have anythin' else to say about that. If there was a murder, I could count on him. If not, the guys still knew how ta keep things interestin'. 'Course, most of the time that had the girl's thinkin' I was some kinda pervert an' warpin' the kid's head or somethin'. Kudo's just as bad as I am, there's nothin' there ta warp.

**...**

Yay. School. Not the best thing ta look forward to.

That damned woman at the school gates my first day back made it all the worse. Guess I wasn't goin' ta be gettin' home today.

I sighed an' let my bag rest against my leg. "What do ya want now? I've already done everythin' ya asked. If yer still feelin' so bad about yer job, go somewhere else. I'm busy."

"I've got a question for you, Hattori-kun, and I would like an honest answer."

If I thought Ran's mom had a stare on her, this woman could melt steal. It was all in the glare. I knew my own wasn't as intimidatin', though I did try an' throw it back at her.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"If you were able to save someone, no matter what the cost, would you do it?"

My glare wasn't so powerful when I was usin' most of my face ta frown at her. "Save someone in what way? And what do ya mean, no matter the cost?"

"I mean, if you were given the chance to save someone, would you do it? Would you do it if no one was hurt by your actions?"

"Sure, I mean. I think I would. Depends what we're talkin' about."

"Come with me. I'll show you."

She held out her hand ta me an' I got one of those ominous feelin's around me that I've gotten before. I felt this when after that nightmare I had with Kudo bittin' it. I had it again a few times when the kid was in danger. I never felt it retainin' ta me before.

"I can't. I'm busy."

"If you say so." She took her hand back an' smiled at me somethin' sad an' far less threatenin'. "But remember, life doesn't like to give second chances. I need your help and so do others. You could always turn back if you don't want to assist me, or you can walk away as you are, and the let the weight of what you're passing up haunt you."

"An' just what is it I'm passin' up?

"I told you, the chance to help people, to make a difference. I can't offer it to you again. I'm only going to get this one chance"

"Yer gonna have-"

"I'll explain later. I've never had something like this come up so quickly before. Have you ever had the chance to save someone, and you've passed it up? I've done it before, I'm not going to do it again, whether or not you agree to help."

I winced, thinkin' back on that couple. I could 'a gotten them out. The fire wasn't that bad. Maybe the smoke was, but I couldn't... What was wrong with me? I would 'a gone up there before. I went all out ta help Kazuha _and_ Kudo several times now... Why did I stop?

"Fine." I held my hand out ta her this time. "I'll help ya, but my way. I don't know what's goin' on an' I'm gonna leave if I think yer messin' with me or somethin'."

"Deal."

That handshake felt so final. I could always walk away from this, it wasn't like she could stop me. There was always the chance of turnin' back, right?


End file.
